Mom carries on legacy of giving

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Debbie Fett spent the Friday before Christmas handing out gifts to children who have to spend the holiday in the hospital at Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin.

"There are some kids in here that are always smiling, regardless of what they're going through, they smile," said Fett.  "And that's what Amber did."

Debbie's daughter, Amberlyn, started Amber's Angels in 2004 as a freshman in high school. The group hands out presents to children who are hospital bound for the holidays, as Amber often was, because of her cystic fibrosis.

"If she could make one kid smile and forget for just a minute or one second where they were and to be able to be a child then she knew she was doing what God wanted her to do," Debbie said.

But Amberlynn wasn't with Debbie on Friday. She passed away in November 2011 at 22 years old, but told her Mom to carry on her legacy of giving.

"She made me promise her that I would do it," Debbie said. "And so that's why we are is because I made that promise."

Fett and former University of Texas Longhorn defense end Eddie Jones handed out presents to children at Dell Children's together on Friday.  Jones met Amberlynn during a visit to the hospital and the two became fast friends.

"She saw the light in everything outside of what she was going through," said Jones.

He has been volunteering with Amber's Angels since he met Amberlynn.

"That's one thing that she wanted to do and that's one thing that we loved to do together and so I'll keep doing it for the rest of my life," he said.

Amber's Angels started small with the Fetts asking for donations from family members to buy the gifts. They now have a website where people can learn more about their mission and how to help.